AS much as an extra 11.1 per cent of taxpayers cash went on south Bucks council pensions in one year, a new study shows.

A pressure group today attacked gold-plated' pensions for civil servants funded out of the public purse.

The TaxPayers' Alliance study shows a rise in council contributions to retirement funds through the four councils in south Bucks.

The biggest rise - an extra £72,000 - was at South Bucks District Council, which saw an increase of 11.1 per cent from 2005/06 to 2007/08.

This is equivalent to £11 for each person in the district.

This rose to £13 for Chiltern (an increase of 3.9 per cent) and £18 for Wycombe (an 8.8 per cent increase).

Most taxpayers' cash - about £44 per person - went to Buckinghamshire County Council.

It pumped an extra £1.2m into the pension fund in the 12 months.

The average rise across the UK was 13 per cent, the study found.

Andrew Allum, chairman of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: It's unacceptable that ordinary families and pensioners who struggle to pay inflated council tax bills see so much of their money spent on gold-plated council pensions that have all but disappeared in the wider economy.

With pension costs jumping 13 per cent in one year, the problem is clearly getting worse and requires urgent attention.

Councils should start correcting their own behaviour immediately, and the Government must face down union pressure and reform the outdated local government pensions scheme as soon as possible.' But Local Government Agency deputy chief executive John Ransford said: The Taxpayers' Alliance appears to be condemning lollipop ladies, bin men, street cleaners and librarians for getting a pension worthy of the years of service they have given helping local people.

The Local Government Pension Scheme recently underwent a radical overhaul, which provides greater value for money to the taxpayer while at the same time recognising the invaluable work that council staff do to make the lives of local people better.'